Pages

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Hi all, just a quick reminder that you can still sign up for a print-book giveaway of Faith Hunter's new book, Broken Soul, 8th in the fantastic Jane Yellowrock series. Check it out at the end of my interview with Faith as part of her book blog tour! Like Faith's Facebook page, follow Faith or me on Twitter, or like my blog for extra "points" in the drawing! (Rafflecopter accepts those likes/follows even if you have already done so, that is, you still get points if you *already* follow Faith on Twitter.)

This giveaway ends Tuesday night at midnight, but there are others on the blog tour, plus lots of other fun interviews, book reviews, and more.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Earlier this
week, Daughter and I enjoyed a school-night outing to one of our favorite
independent bookstores, Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC, to hear
Scott Westerfeld, on tour to promote his new book, Afterworlds. This was, in fact, the first stop on his book tour, as
the book was released on Sep 23rd.

Daughter
discovered Leviathan in 5th
grade and devoured the trilogy, a steampunk alternate history of World War One,
in which the Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven
iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition, while the British Darwinists
employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry.

She wasn’t then
interested in the “Uglies” series,
but I think she mistakenly thought it was more realistic fiction of the type
her friends enjoy but she finds boring. After hearing Westerfeld talk about the
series, in which sixteen brings the surgery that makes you Pretty—because who
would want to stay Ugly forever?—I think she and I are both much more
interested to read it!

After Goliath, the third of the Leviathan trilogy, Westerfeld took a
break before beginning his new work, which is in fact two stories interwoven
into one novel, Afterworlds. I’ll
have to wait for Daughter to read her newly minted and signed copy first, but
then I plan to enjoy the book and will post a review here.

Meanwhile, here
are my notes from Westerfeld’s talk:

This is his first
tour in 5 years – a little nervous! How will he be received without bringing
more Talia (from Uglies) or airships
(from Leviathan)?! He showed a book
trailer for Afterworlds (above)…and
talked about how different the publishing industry was in terms of media and
social media in 10 years – primarily due to the explosive growth of Young Adult
(YA). Next year will see a new release of Uglies
to mark its 10th anniversary – and it will have all the bells and
whistles, compared to the simply styled book trailers of 2005.

Westerfeld gives
Meyer credit for much of the YA explosion. Twilight truly changed the global
landscape of the YA publishing world. It’s been translated into 20 languages
and is a media juggernaut.

This is a huge “cultural
moment” for YA – as it’s being read by more and more adults, teen tastes are
informing their parents’ generation in a more positive way than any since there
have *been* teenagers. Strong emphasis on story and narrative… Stephen Colbert
said “YA is like a regular novel, except people would actually want to read it!”

Afterworlds is
about a young writer who gets published, and about her 1st year
living on her in New York while she grows up, falls in love, and rewrites her
book with her changing perspective on life, love, and more. Half of the book is
her own story, and half of it is her novel.

“Teenager” is a
relatively new concept in human cultural history. 150 years ago, child labor
laws were established that limited children under 18 from working more than 80
hours per week. In 1920, US laws established that you had to be 16 to get
married. So there was this kind of twilight zone, where you weren’t a child
anymore, but you weren’t fully an adult yet.

The word “teenager”
wasn’t even invented until 1941, and movies like Rebel Without a Cause showed how much the new “teens” terrified
adults! They were old enough and big enough to be dangerous, but not yet “civilized”
and “in control” like adults!

Uglies tapped into this
uncertain time, this “moral panic”

Now, almost 10
years after Uglies and other YA exploded on the scene, YA is what keeps the
publishing industry in business. It’s by far the most profitable section of any
bookstore…Meyer, Collins, and Green are the publishing powerhouses of today.

Back in 2005,
several of the YA authors realized they all lived in New York City, so they
started NY YA Drink Night, a monthly gathering.

Westerfeld
thought it would be fun to write about the YA lit community, and rather than
from his own perspective he thought it would be interesting to show it through
the eyes of a young girl/woman just entering the scene, both as a Young Adult
herself, and the author of a soon-to-be-published manuscript. She writes it
during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) of her senior year in high
school, and she has a publishing contract by graduation. Decides to defer
college and go to the NY lit scene…which absolutely does not thrill her Indian
immigrant parents!

2nd trailer:

There’s such
great teen interest in *reading* - blog widget countdowns to next releases – a passion
for books...

The pubishing
industry is over 500 years old. Lots of weird legacy things – but also lots of
great conversations with like-minded people. [This is why spec fiction Cons are
so great!]

The book has
already been optioned for a movie, and Westerfeld is thinking a sequel could be
about Darcy making a movie of Lizzie’s story.

Westerfeld loves
falling/flying – flying would be his superhero power – he pushed himself to
write Lizzy’s story in Darcy’s voice, not his own! No falling or leaping out of
buildings!

Lizzy becomes a
Soul Guide – Westerfeld researched lots of different religions and traditions.
Hindu story of the Lord of the Dead: Yama and his sister Yami were the first to
find the afterworld, and so he became the ruler of it!

Research – it’s
not just to “get things right” –the best thing is it gives you story!

Q&A session with the (mostly teen) audience:

AQ: Will Shay’s story ever
be finished?

SW: No, sadly, there will
only be the two graphic novels

AQ: So Darcy and Lizzy’s
names are obviously inspired by Pride and Prejudice…

SW: (with a laugh) I
actually didn’t notice that at first! Names are an important part of the book.
Pen names, knowing people, power over people Lizzie’s kind of a badass and
Darcy’s fussier – not pride, more insecurity – the other side of the same coin,
I guess.

AQ: How did your YA lit
friends respond to the Afterworlds
concept?

SW: Well, in general, they
were really supportive, as you saw in the 2nd trailer. The thing is,
Darcy isn’t exciting – her story is about slow growing up in real life. Lizzie
has the dramatic scenes leading up to a big climax. What was interesting about
people’s responses is that those who write realistic fiction didn’t like Lizzie’s
story, and those who write fantastical fiction felt the same way about Darcy’s
story. Across the board, this was pretty consistent.

AQ: How long did it take
to write the book?

SW: Well, I took a little
time off after Goliath, so it really took three years to write. That’s from
start to end of first draft. Now, keep in mind, this is really two 75,000 word
novels combined into one big brick.

AQ: Did you write the two
stories in sequence? Or did you write one and then the other?

SW: That’s a really good
question. I actually wanted the two stories to be interwoven together, like a
conversation. And Darcy’s experience of living and writing her story very much
influenced Lizzy’s story. So while it would have made a lot of sense to write
them one at a time, I wrote them pretty much like you will read them. Now
sometimes I would write a little ahead on Lizzy’s story, because I found it
more fun.

AQ: Was it easier to write
Darcy’s part? Like a journal of your own experiences?

SW: It was easy and fun in
many ways.

AQ: What do you think of
fan fiction?

SW: I think it’s great,
and especially fan art – I used to post Fan Art Friday on my site. I think
anything that makes the world bigger and better known is great. Similarly, I
think self-publishing is great, too. You get better when a lot of people read
your stuff. It’s like pumpkin carving. Remember before all the fancy kits and social
media, when you carved a simple pumpkin, five people might say “That’s a pretty
good pumpkin.” Now, you post a picture on Instagram and get 2 million likes!
The fan fiction community and the author community are the same.

The thing is, if
you’re a writer, this is what you do all the time anyway. To do NaNa, you have
to write like 1500 words a day (1667, but who’s counting). That means *you are
writing all the time*…even when you’re not sitting in front of a computer, or
pad of paper, you are still writing in your head. That’s what writing is…

AQ: You write a lot of
strong female progtagonists that behave appropriately to their circumstances.
What are your influences?

SW: Well, I have two older
sisters. And I went to Vasser. One of my sisters is a rock climber. She says, “This
was the best weekend—Ever! We almost died!” Like it’s a good thing. She’s
fearless. I don’t specifically set out to write girls, but So Yesterday and
Peeps are my only two books with only male protags. I just don’t find teen boys
as interesting, as complicated, as challenging as teen girls. Chris Crutcher (Running Loose, Stotan!, Chinese Handcuffs,
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes) writes really good, super realistic books
about male protags and how teen boys think…

AQ: When did you start
reading SF and fantasy? Who influenced you?

SW: I always did, as long
as I can remember. In the bookstores, I was drawn to the fancy covers and then
the great stories in the SF section. I was never interested in the early YA
books like the Outsiders or Judy
Blume, even though those are some great books. Enders Game, that’s a terrific SF story.

AQ: NPR just did an
article on Afterworlds,
and it says YA is defined by a character being the special “Chosen One” – do you
agree?

SW: Well, that’s pretty
much every Hero’s Journey, ever, right? Two things about that... 1) Journalists tend to
be reductionist. And 2) Remember, those scary teenagers need to be put in a box.

AQ: In the Leviathan
series, how did you choose Darwinists?

SW: Well, it’s an
alternate history of WW1, so the Axis, the Germans were good at building
things. The British were big into naturalism, so, Charles Darwin. The story has
a strong steampunk feel – that is, set in the past with a sort of futuristic
technology (at least, futuristic for that past). I wanted a *biologist* to be
the “mad scientist”, rather than a mechanics inventor. Because, Frankenstein.

AQ: How do you get in the
head space for writing?

SW: It takes awhile…like a
year of percolating. One of the main ideas in AfterWorlds was something I sat
on for 20 years. Basically, you become very good at setting an idea on the back
burner on low for as long as possible and letting it “cook” before you ever
begin to put it on paper.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

I’m delighted to host Faith Hunter, one of my favorite
urban fantasy authors, here on WritersSpark.com. Faith writes two terrific
series: the urban fantasy Skinwalker
series, featuring rogue-vampire hunter Jane Yellowrock, and the near-future
apocalyptic Rogue Mage series.
The 8thSkinwalker book, BROKEN
SOUL, will be out from ROC on October 7th. You can win a free print
copy through the Rafflecopter widget below.

MM: Hi Faith,
thanks for stopping by!

FH: My
pleasure. I’m glad to be here.

MM: Let’s talk
about some of the things that influence your writing and your writing life
before we get to Jane and Beast.

FH: (laughs)
Beast is not known for her patience!

MM: Indeed.
It’s not wise to tease a big cat. And I know she’s a big part of your life. You
collect things. Can you tell us about what you collect now, and why?

FH: I saw my first Georgia O’Keefe painting as a young
woman, and fell in love with orchids and skulls. I have something like 20
orchids – a few in bloom – and a small collection of skulls: dog, cat, fox,
goat, boar, cow, one red tailed deer that is falling apart, one mountain lion
skull that I got from a tannery in the west, and the jawbone of an ass.
Seriously! I also have a few fossils and want more. The collection of stuff
used to be arranged with the orchids in artistic splendor, but now the bones
are in the Beast room, the room that used to be my parlor. The Beast room has
statues of mountain lions, pottery, the skulls, and a HUGE painting of a mountain
lion. Oh. And couches and rugs.

I also collect
stones and pearls for wrapping and stringing. I have two tall cabinets
dedicated to my jewelry-making equipment! Also I have little collections of
angels, frogs, and turtles. Hmmm. A few pieces of Weller pottery. And don’t let
me forget the boots. Oy. The boots… And the jewelry. And the hubby and I
(currently) have 20+ kayaks. We paddle in whitewater and sometimes on black
water or the ocean, so we have boats for different kinds of water. Oh. My.
Gosh. I am a packrat!!!

MM: It sounds like it! I know you travel a fair amount to
promote your work, and it must be nice to come home to beautiful, familiar
things.

FH: (sipping tea) Mmmm….

MM: We first met at ConCarolinas a couple of years ago. What are your favorite Cons?

FH: I adore Cons, but to give myself time to write, I try to
do only four per year. ConCarolinas is small and intimate and I can spend time
with fans more one-on-one. It is also a Con where most of my writer friends go,
so it’s a favorite. Dragon*Con, of course. D*C is huge and allows me to see
lots of fans, though it’s wild and busy and exhausting. In 2015 I’ll be doing
When Worlds Collide in Calgary. And then one more!

MM: Those do run
the gamut from some of the smallest to largest. You can meet so many people and
make new fans at every Con. Why not do more?

FH. Exhaustion. I over did in 2012. Stress made me back off.
Fewer Cons and fewer formal signings are the new norm for me. I will be writing
only one book every 9 months, rather than one book every six months as I did
before. BUT! I am doing flash signings, where I advertise (on my FaceBook fan
page in on Twitter) three days in advance and just show up in a bookstore and
meet with fans. Not to make them buy books, but to visit with me. I have done
three so far in 2014, in two Myrtle Beach and in one Knoxville. So much fun!

MM: Okay, let’s tackle
an important question: Italian or Mexican?

FH: Men or food? LOL, Okay, I like Italian. Not because of
the taste, but because I have a corn allergy (used to be a sensitivity but it
morphed), and Mexican is full of corn! With the Italian, I can get whole
wheat pasta and no sauce. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I can eat Mexican
when I get corn-free, wheat tortillas. And I adore spicy hummus.

MM: Faith, thanks so much for stopping by today. And now,
let’s introduce Jane and Beast’s newest adventure, BROKEN SOUL:

Jane Yellowrock is a vampire killer for hire—but other
creatures of the night still need to watch their backs....

When
the Master of the city of New Orleans asks Jane to improve security for a
future visit from a delegation of European vampires, she names an exorbitant
price—and Leo is willing to pay. That’s because the European vamps want Leo’s
territory, and he knows that he needs Jane to prevent a total bloodbath. Leo,
however, doesn’t mention how this new job will change Jane’s life or the
danger it will bring her and her team.

Jane has more to worry about than some greedy vampires.
There’s a vicious creature stalking the streets of New Orleans, and its
agenda seems to be ripping Leo and her to pieces. Now Jane just has to figure
out how to kill something she can’t even see….

New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter writes dark urban
fantasy and paranormal thrillers, including the Skinwalker series, featuring rogue-vampire hunter Jane
Yellowrock, and the Rogue Mage
series, a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality series, featuring Thorn St.
Croix, a stone mage. She has a new series under wraps.

Proud member of

Favorite Quotes

You have to start somewhere in order to end up somewhere good!~Margaret S. McGraw

~~~

Be kind, be brave, be fierce, be love.~Laura Anne Gilman

~~~

Some things in life cannot be fixed. They can only be carried.~Megan Devine

~~~

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain

~ ~ ~

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. ~Casey Kasem

When opportunity puckers up, lean in for a smooch. Only a fool tells the angels to come back tomorrow.~Steven Barnes

~ ~ ~

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.~ Dalai Lama

~ ~ ~

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.~ Japanese proverb

~ ~ ~

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.~ Aesop

~ ~ ~

Everything flows, nothing stays.~ Heraclitus

~ ~ ~

Balance, always a balance. Work to give life purpose, play to lift the heart, music to soothe the spirit, love to give one strength. One cannot ask for more.~ Pelzmantel, K.A. Laity

~ ~ ~

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.~ 1st part paraphrased from J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan; 2nd part from either Plato or (more likely) Philo of Alexandria

~ ~ ~

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives... be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies... succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you... be honest and frank anyway

What you may spend years building, someone may destroy overnight... build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous... be happy anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow... do good anyway

Give the best you have, and it may never be enough... give the best you have anyway ~ Mother Teresa